Which stove do you use most?

I do mostly three-season hikes.

I used to use canister stove exclusively (MSR PocketRocket, Snow Peak Gigapower), but now use alcohol stove more and more — especially on shorter trips.

I have several, but actually use my JetBoil much more frequently than the rest (liquid fueled). I give up the few ounces and go for the ease of use, and I use the coffee press often, too. Admittedly I've never gotten into the ultra lightweight alcohol stoves…yet.

John H.,
Is that avatar a picture of you? I'm curious because I would like to know what that shelter is that you are kneeling next to. It looks like a poncho, but if so it is very, very well pitched.

I would venture to say its a TT Contrail.

As for the stove. I do mostly shorter trips and find that at the end of higher mileage days I don't feel like cooking. I try to bring simple no-cook food on those.
When I do cook I like to use my tealight alcohol stove. I have used an MSR Pocket Rocket in the past but love the weight of the tealight. If I decide at the end of the day that I don't feel like boiling water its not too big of a deal since my cookset weighs around 3 oz (I'm at work now so I can't give you an exact weight :)).

Adam

Yes, that's the Contrail in a slightly different configuration. I kept the front extensions in just a bit more than normal, then ran a tensioned line from the end of the beak. Entrance is from the front left side after loosening the velcro. It happens that I was trying the TheraBand tensioners on the side/center points when this photo was taken. I just love to try out different pitches with the Contrail.

So far I'm a 3 season backpacker only (mostly in MN). I've used a homemade RedBull alcohol stove exclusively for every trip in the last 2+ years.

I have to admit, the convenience of canister stoves beats out the weight savings of alcohol or esbit for me. After just a few incidents of extended fiddling with other options under less-than-ideal conditions, I went back to my SP Giga. The 5 ounce weight savings (factoring in fuel of 3 ounces of alcohol and a full 110g canister) just doesn't do it for me. At the end of a long day, I'd rather have the easy option of twisting on the burner and striking a match. Most of the time, I don't even use a windscreen.

I. too, like the convenience of a canister stove, so I usually use my snow peak giga.

I mostly stay out for 2 and 3 nights. For the last 3 years I have been using a Pocket Rocket in both normal upright setup and in cold temperatures my home modified liquid feed configuration. Earlier this year my walking partner came back from a family visit to the States with a 1.5l pot JetBoil stove.

I have been very impressed by how fast and easily the JetBoil has been to setup and use, how fast it boiled water even in cool windy conditions and how nice it was to use while cooking our gourmet rice and pasta meals, and I found that in our last walk it was used as the first choice stove but I will say that I do not have to carry this stove.

Tony

I use an Anti-Gravity Gear stove now for all 3-season trips. I find it every bit as convenient as my MSR Super Fly. I just fill with fuel until the scribed line inside the stove, light, measure out the water by this time it's ready to go so I place the pot on the stove and forget about it until I hear it boiling just a couple minutes later. Very simple, no fuss and the weight savings.

SGT Rock's Ion Stove. Light. Efficient. Compact. Titanium pot stand. Cool.

If canister:
My Primus, it is very simple canister stove with little to break. I have been using it for 4+ years now. Compare it to say, a Pocket Rocket for size/weight.

Alcohol stoves:
I have both an AGG and a White Box. Love them both!

If somebody else is willing to carrying the stove then I just carry an extra bottle or canister of fuel. For myself, in three-season I prefer my homemade Pepsi-G alcohol stove. For winter, I'm still stuck deciding between the JetBoil (15.1 oz; not so good below +15F), Coleman Xtreme (12.4 oz; requires a cooking platform), or my faithful Svea/Optimus 123 (18.6 oz; compact).

Really varies by the trip but here's my standard go-to stoves:

SUL solo- either a MiniBull Designs alcohol stove or a BPL esbit stove (or nothing if I'm really pushing it)

2 person backpack- AntiGravityGear alcohol stove

family or group backpack- Primus Alpine Titium canister stove (no longer made)

All winter/mountaineering trips- no question here- Coleman Extreme.

F1 Ultralight for normal three-season conditions. Xtreme for colder weather.

light solo overnight=myog esbit holder with (Jhaura inspired) windcreen/potholder

two person multiday=myog wood gasifier stove plus above stove

car camping, fourth season=MSR Whisperlite International
with MSR titanium spoon with stove wrench cut out of handle

Of course it's high time I tried an alcohol stove. The Whisperlight was purchased for cheap at Seattle REI's bargin basement. I love the wood gasifier, made from a tin can, roof flashing, and wire and have used it 2 1/2 weeks straight. My husband finds it fiddlesome and more work than the Whisperlight but it charmed me.

From March-October (and in the SoCal high desert, in the winter): Esbit, first the original model, then the wing stove, now the bottom of a coke can to hold the tab and a carefully calculated pot stand make out of some metal mesh something or other. It's been great for me over the last 5,000+ miles and I am sure it will do me well this summer for 2,500-3,000 more miles.

I love seeing how much fuel (in tab form) I have left, it makes me not stress about it. I also love how if I need to make a fire with wet wood, I can use it to start the fire and it drys out the kindling so I can get enough heat/warmth generated (I am talking about responsible fire building here)to dry out more wood and keep it going. I've had to do this on occasion for me and/or other hikers who really need to get warm but were very, very wet.
NITRO

Mostly I use my 1.5 oz alcohol stove/aluminum cup/foil lid/windscreen setup (I posted pics of it on one of the other threads).

Sometimes I use the Snow Peak GigaPower Ti canister stove.

On kayaking trips I'll carry my white gas setup, a Brunton Optimus with kerosene for fuel.

Canoe trips, and sometimes backpacking jaunts of 5-7 days with 2 people without resupply, in mild weather: canister – just because I have lots of canisters left over from that stage of development.

Backpacking, 2 people, up to 7 days, through winter: alcohol stove, Fuzzy's Little Stove or home-made White Box. Alcohol seems to work better than most vapor-feed canister stoves in cold weather. I have no experience with liquid-feed canister stoves. Reviews on this site indicate they might be more weight-efficient than alcohol in cold weather.

Backpacking: solo, all conditions, especially for long distance, resupplying along the way: Esbit with alcohol option in case of difficult resupply. Esbit is safer than alcohol and lighter than alcohol or anything else. Stinks, though.

My most used stove is a Mo-Go-Gear Fire Fly from Gossamer Gear with the Titanium stand from the Ion Stove. For me this is the best set up.

For convenience I would go with the Brunton Crux canister stove.

For the last two years, I have used nothing but my esbit + beercan stove. 48 grams. I've used it 3 seasons in Nova Scotia… costal areas… down to maybe 5 or 10 C… usually just for a couple nights. I don't find it any less convenient… personally. I do sometimes have to find a sheltered place if I'm in a coastal area… i.e… can be hard to get the tab lit on a beach with a breeze… altho' I hear that hand sanitizer works wonders.

For solo trips I use a common UL backpacking combo, i.e., a homemade mini version of the Pepsi-G alcohol stove with a Snow Peak 600 mug. If I am heating liquid for two or three I typically carry the larger Pepsi-G and maybe the Trek 700 mug or a larger titanium cook pot. In similar situations my stepson prefers a MSR Pocket Rocket canister stove. If we anticipate needing to melt snow or have a large group, e.g., on a Philmont trip, we take a white gas stove, e.g., a MSR SimmerLite with a larger aluminum or titanium pot.

For a longer fast trip, with simple meals, in good weather–you can't beat the BPL Esbit Ti wing stove with a MSR Ti pot/cozy (you can get a lighter pot). This is a light weight combination that's easy to use. For a shorter trip–say less than 5 days–I use alcohol with either the turbo brass or mini-bull sketti. You pay a 1/2 ounce per day penalty for using alcohol instead of Esbit.

If the weather is going to be sketchy or I want to cook more complex meals, I'll bring the snow peak Ti or for thick sauces the Brunton crux. This way I can cook inside and control my fuel use better–at .25-.35 oz of fuel per day (with custom windscreen/heat reflector for the snow peak stove) it would take two weeks to "pay the price" of the extra weight of the fuel canister compared with esbit but since you'd use more than one canister in two weeks you probably never catch up. However being able to cook inside, start/stop the stove instantly, and control the flame is worth something. In high fire danger areas (say Yellowstone "meadows" in summer) the risks of alcohol or esbit of starting a fire are greater. On Andy and my trip last summer he had to cook in a couple dusty/dirty of buffalo wallows so as not to start a new round of Yellowstone fires!!

In winter I use a hybrid of the bush buddy and a whisperlight (for long trips). The 5oz bushbuddy pays for its weight if I save even one day of fuel (if melting snow for water) and the whisperlight insures that I can cook quickly and in bad weather OR if no wood is available. For shorter trips below timberline in good weather I may only take the bushbuddy. If it's going to be stormy I'll always take the whisperlight.

In the past, I've been a huge fan of Esbit on my summer long-distance hikes. Using the BPL Esbit Ti wing stove, with home-made foil windscreen and a Snow Peak 700 ml Ti Mug and Lexan spoon, my kitchen is under 5 ounces.

This summer however, I will also try my Snow Peak GigaPower on the Tahoe Rim Trail, since I feel good about resupply options in Tahoe City. If I like it well enough, I will carry it instead of my esbit setup on my John Muir Trail thru-hike shortly after.

In winter, I use my MSR Whisperlite with an 11 ounce fuel bottle.